Once he learned to relax, Bellator 87's Will Brooks got his big upset win

Before Bellator MMA’s Will Brooks stepped into the ring about 9,000 miles from home to fight Japanese vet Satoru Kitaoka, he had made up his mind about the direction of his career.

“At that point, I was basically like, whatever comes to me when I get back home is what’s going to happen,” Brooks told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

That may sound a little hippie-dippy for a Chicago native like Brooks, but it made sense for the 26-year-old fighter.

“There was a period where I wasn’t having fun doing what I was doing,” he said. “I was putting too much pressure on myself and demanding everything and not letting things come to me.”

Before, Brooks had reason to push himself. When his original dream of playing in the NFL didn’t pan out, he lapsed into a nomadic lifestyle that eventually lead to drug dealing and, several times, the back of a police car.

A longtime friend convinced him to turn his life around as a fight between Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes played in the background. He packed up his ailing Dodge Avenger and traveled from Chicago to Schaumberg, Ill., where he found a home at the Midwest Training Center under the tutelage of Alex Trujillo and Clay Guida.

Trujillo helped find him a place to live after a year of couch-surfing, and Guida once paid for his medicals so he could fight. But with a 7-0 pro record came burnout. Brooks decided he wouldn’t go into the Kitaoka fight expecting his career to jump if he won.

Yet he had a feeling if he did, a contract would be waiting for him.

Sure enough, Brooks upset Kitaoka at DREAM.18 after winning by second-round TKO. When he arrived back in Illinois after a long flight home, his manager called.

“He told me I was offered to be a part of this tournament,” Brooks said. “I’m really excited, man. I’m on the roller coaster, and I’m going up.”

Tomorrow, Brooks takes a big step forward when he competes at Bellator 87, which hosts the opening round of Bellator’s Season 8 lightweight tournament. The event takes place at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. Main-card fights, including Brooks’, air live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Brooks (8-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) takes on Ricardo Tirloni (15-3 MMA, 2-2 BFC), who makes his third tournament appearance after falling short in the Season 6 and 7 competitions. Prior to his Bellator debut, he won 11 straight bouts over four years.

It’s Brooks understanding that Tirloni is working on his boxing in advance of their fight, but he doesn’t anticipate being forced into any particular style when the bell rings. A powerful right hand is the one weapon he’s most concerned about.

Other than that, he plans on letting things flow. He’s recently joined up with American Top Team to round out his game and get more looks from different training partners, so he doesn’t plan on seeing anything new against Tirloni.

“It’s so hard to put together one game plan because so many things can happen,” Brooks said. “But I’m excited that Bellator gave me this opportunity.”

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